He couldn't miss her from a mile away.

Edward was running from the Resembool station all the way to the Rockbell home - his home - when he saw the top of a bright blonde head standing in the Resembool graveyard. He ran up to her and ducked his head down, panting, desperate to regain his breath for the large amount of talking that was about to ensue. As Edward came up to finally meet the eyes of his lover, he realized that he was standing in front of his parents' joint grave.

If my father can return to Mom, then I can return to Winry.

She stood staring at him with many emotions swimming in her eyes. Sadness. Love. Betrayal. Adoration. They flipped back and forth like a light switch.

"Winry."

"Edward."

Ed reached his arm out and grabbed Winry's left hand. She tensed at the touch, but did not pull away. He saw, with a thankful breath, that she was still wearing his engagement ring. He grabbed it and slowly slid it off, letting it fall to the ground. The wordless action spoke loudly to Winry; it was Edward's way of breaking up with her. The silver ring with the singular diamond fell slowly to ground, matched in timing with the tears falling from her eyes.

Winry let out a choked sob while the tears fell down her face faster. The flow of tears halted, however, when Edward pulled out another ring. This ring was silver was like the other, but the jewel in the center was an aquamarine twice the size of the previous diamond. The jewel was surrounded by smaller sapphires and diamonds in alternating order. Her mind took off in a sprint of thoughts wondering where Edward had gotten it and how much it cost him. (Little did she know, the ring was given to him by General Mustang and customized by Alphonse. She wouldn't find another like it anywhere.)

Winry was speechless, so Edward did the talking for her. "I figured you deserved better," he said.

Winry frowned as another tear fell. "Deserve better than you?"

Ed's face contorted to show pure pain. "...if that's what you want. If you want me to go, I will."

"No, Ed. What I want is to love you and for you to love me. I want us to be married."

"I can give you that," Ed whispered as he leaned in to kiss Winry. She pushed him away roughly.

"Edward... I can't believe you ran away. Do you know long it's been? A month. One... painfully long... month. How.. how could you!"

"..I'm sorry. I've really messed up. But all the travelling I did in this month meant something. I've gotten a lot out of it and I am bringing it back to you. I ran away because I was scared, Winry. Yes, I'll admit it, I was scared. Scared I wouldn't make a good husband to you. And someday down the line, I'm afraid I won't be a good father to our kids. And I panicked. So I ran away. But while traveling with Al, I learned how to be a good husband to you. I'm confident now that I can take care of you and our future children to the best of my ability." Edward got down on one knee. "Winry, I love you and I want to marry you."

"You really are an idiot, Edward," she said as she grabbed his shoulders and lifted him up. Their lips met aggressively, eager to pick up on what the both of them have been missing out on for a month. When they broke apart, nearly breathless, Winry slapped him across the face. And hit him with her wrench. And then slapped him again.

"I guess I deserved all of that."

"You do, moron." She grasped his hand in hers.


Instead of being impulsive and taking an expensive taxi like his brother, Al allowed Riza to drive him. She dropped him off at the Resembool station and they parted ways, with Al giving her proper thanks and promising her and her coworkers an invite to the wedding.

He was walking down the path to the Rockbell home when her saw two blonde heads in the graveyard kissing. He smiled to himself. Images of the future filled his head, images of little Eds and Winrys running around. His future nieces and nephews. "Oh, goodness," he whispered.

He, unlike his brother, continued up the path and entered the Rockbell home. He nearly gave Pinako a heart attack in the process and was hit in the head with a frying pan.

"Ow," exclaimed Al, rubbing his head. "I thought throwing metal objects around is Winry's job."

"I'm worry, Al," said Pinako. Then she realized who was talking to. "Al! What's going on!"

Al smiled. "Hello, Granny. Everything is fine. Edward and Winry are in the graveyard talking. Well, actually, they weren't doing much talking when I passed them.. if you know what I mean."

Pinako sighed and sat down. "Good to hear. Winry was so depressed until Colonel Armstrong came here and talked to her. It was strange. She perked up so suddenly. I guess that's Winry and her mood swings for you. I assume it had something to do with the alco-" Pinako abruptly stopped talking.

"What?" asked Al. "Did you say alcohol?"

"No. But you did. Have you been drinking, Al?

"Uh, no, but you said.. wait. You said the Colonel came here?"

"Yes. He said you and your brother had just left for Xing."

"Oh." Al rubbed the back of his neck. "Brother and I traveled a lot while we were gone. We caught up with a lot of the people we met on our journey. They were all very kind and hospitable to us and gave Ed advice for his impending marriage."

"That's lovely. You boys make lasting impressions n the people you meet." She then folded her arms. "Still, your brother had no right to run off like that without telling Winry. What kind of man leaves his bride at the altar?"

Al laughed. "That's Brother for you. Don't worry, you can yell at your future grandson-in-law when he gets home."


Everyone was in high spirits as a crowd of people gathered on the plot of land between the Rockbell's automail shop and the Resembool River. Despite delaying his wedding by a month, Edward wanted the ceremony held as soon as possible after he returned to Resembool. This provoked many lectures and arguments between him and Pinako, who would have yelled Ed all the way to his grave hadn't Al intervened. And so, the wedding was planned in a short period of time. There were many new guests to be accommodated for, so the wedding was planned two weeks after Ed's and Al's return instead of two days like Ed had wanted. He was impatient and angsty, but for Winry, he could wait a lifetime.

And now, finally, the day everyone had waited for had arrived. Winry was inside, being attended to by her whoever's job that was. Ed assumed it was Granny Pinako. He had no idea how these "weddings" worked; he'd never been to one in his life. Instead, Ed stood in the bank of the river, waiting to be summoned.

As expected, the first person to find Ed was Al. "Brother?" called Al. He saw his brother, gave a sigh of happiness, and went over to greet him. "Thank goodness. I thought you left again."

"No, Al," said Ed in a condescending tone. "I won't leave."

Al laughed. "Good, because Teacher is here and she told that me that if we don't celebrate your wedding today, we'll celebrate your funeral instead. Also, Hawkeye are here, and I'm pretty sure she has a gun hidden somewhere in her dress."

Ed turned to face the river. "Who else is here?"

"Teacher and Sig, obviously. Hawkeye, Mustang," Al heard Ed grumble, "and I think Fuery is somewhere. Havoc and Breda might be coming for the reception. Colonel Armstrong is here. Ling, Lan Fan, and Mei arrived from Xing this morning. They're here."

Ed turned towards his younger brother and raised an eyebrow at him. "Mei is here?"

"Well, obviously! You invited her and-" Al got what his brother was suggesting. "Come on, Ed. This is your wedding."

"I imagine we'll be switching places soon, hm?" Al pushed Ed, who almost fell into the river.

"Hey, watch it!" Ed snapped. "This suit cost a fortune just to borrow!"

"Sorry," mumbled Al. "Maybe we should walk back. The ceremony is going to start soon." Ed turned to walk away, but stopped upon hearing Alphonse cry out "wait!"

"What is this time, Alphonse?" he asked, annoyance clear in his voice.

"Scar's wife sent us a letter. I almost forgot to give it to you. The end is.. uh... surprising." Ed took the letter and opened it.

Dear Elric brothers,

This letter had two purposes. The first one is to congratulate you on your upcoming wedding, Edward. I'm glad your senses returned to you.

Edward huffed.

The second thing is to inform you that I gave birth three days after you left Ishval. I had two healthy twin boys. They're so young, but I can already tell they'll be an energetic bunch. I'm sure my husband is excited. Don't let him know I told you this, but he has a soft spot for young children and cats.

Since Scar named our first son, he told me that I could name our second child. He didn't count on me having twins, though! I was able to name both of my children. What a loophole, huh?

The letter ended there. "Um, is there more?" asked Ed unsurely. Al dug in his pockets, gasped, and pulled out a photograph.

"Oh yeah, this came with it," he said. Ed took the grayscale picture and observed it. Two babies, with dark skin and light hair were lying next to each other in a crib of colorful cloth. The baby to the right had its eyes closed in a peaceful nap while the other had its bright eyes fixed on its brother protectively. It was kind of cute, Ed admitted internally.

He flipped the photo and read the caption. "The one on the left is named Edward and the one sleeping is named Alphonse." Ed groaned. "She named her babies after us? That's so creepy!"

"Really?" asked Al. "I found it flattering. I guess she really liked our names. I wonder how Scar felt about it."

"Considering he is a traditionalist, he was probably pissed his Ishvalan babies were given Amestrian names."

"Ed, can you ever think about the positives? Especially on your wedding day?"

"Nope," said Ed with a smile as he linked his arm around Al's shoulder. "Never."


To any passer-by, the gathering in the field was just another country wedding. But to everyone at the wedding, it was the day they all knew was going to happen. It was the stubborn alchemy freak and the uptight gear head finally got married.

Thus, nearly everyone that the Elric brothers (or AI, since Ed never wrote letters) considered their friend was there for the occasion. It was almost mind-blowing how different everyone looked!

For starters, the royal Xing clan was there, and their outfits alone outdid nearly everyone there. Somehow Ling managed to bypass the whole "royal procession" tradition and brought only a handful of guards. All of them were in hiding with the exception of Lan Fan, who was an invited guest. Ling was wearing his emperor robes which consisted of shades of deep red and violet. His long, jet black hair was worn down and paired with a white head cloth on which an ornate crown was placed. He kept adjusting said headpiece and frowning.

"My Lord, you must not fool with that crown. I know you hate it, but you must wear it to show your position as emperor," his loyal bodyguard Lan Fan whispered harshly. She was unrecognizable to everyone who had never seen her with her mask off, and was unfamiliar to even those who had seen her unmasked. She was wearing a Xingese qipao that was traditionally worn to weddings. However, the girl had alterations in order to be able to fulfill her bodyguard duties. The garment was cut off at the knee with white pants worn underneath in case she had jump into action to protect the emperor. Her hair was in its customary bun, accented by a white flower. Lan Fan also made it a point to pin back her unruly bangs. She looked nice.

Princess Mei was there was well, giggling at the emperor's antics. Unlike Lan Fan, her red qipao was completely traditional. Her long hair was worn in her usual braids, but they were styled in six tiny loops, three on each side to made two large loops. Both of the large loops were accompanied with red flowers that matched her dress. A small panda bear sat on her shoulder, wearing a red bow tie and mirroring the royal girl's expression. One thing very different about Mei was that she was wearing makeup; her lips were dark red and her eyes were darker than normal. It was elegant, to say the least.

Izumi and Sig Curtis, the Elrics' mentors, were there as well. Their outfits were simple, as could be expected. Mrs. Curtis wore a modest black dress while her husband wore a basic suit. Nothing fancy.

And, of course, General Mustang and a few of his subordinates showed up as well. Fuery and the General himself were there, hair slicked back and suits nice and sharp. Riza was there, in a tight dark blue dress that looked strangely sexy on her. Mustang couldn't keep his eyes off of her.

Various others were there such as Colonel Armstrong, the Hughes family, Rose, the chimeras, and various other people the brothers had encountered on their journey were her to congratulate Edward and Winry.

Ed was insanely nervous that he was about to make such emotional and permanent vows in front of such a large group. He wanted to kill Al for inviting so many people.

Suddenly, music began to play. Voices became scare, and everyone stood up. Edward didn't have to look around; he could feel Winry's presence. He looked towards the house and saw a sight that made him catch his breath.

Winry was slowly walking down the aisle dressed in the exact same outfit Edward dreamt she wore when he had the nightmare in Ishval. If he believed in a god, he would have prayed that this was not a dream, and if it was, that it would never turn bad and he would never wake up. But, he was Edward Elric, to whom the concept of god is illogical, so he just watched his bride walk to him.

Any negative feelings he ever felt, ever, left him as he watched Winry walk to him. His surroundings faded away and to him, she was the only person in the room with him.

It didn't matter who was watching their vows. Nothing mattered, as long as he got the fulfillment of being with Winry.

As she took her final steps towards him, Edward realized that Winry was his saving grace. Sure, it was Al that kept Edward's body alive during those dark days by giving him the incentive to keep on living, but it was Winry who kept his spirits alive. She breathed life into his dead soul and made him feel as if every step he took was worthwhile.

He knew he could never, ever regret marrying her.

He said his vows, putting his heart, soul, and what parts of his body the Truth did not have into his words. Winry did the same, and the two become one.